Known from the state of the art are field devices used in industrial plants. In process automation technology, same as in manufacturing automation technology, field devices are often applied. Referred to as field devices are, in principle, all devices, which are applied near to the process and which deliver, or process, process relevant information. Thus, field devices are used for registering and/or influencing process variables. Serving for registering process variables are measuring devices, e.g. sensors. These are used, for example, for pressure- and temperature measurement, conductivity measurement, flow measurement, fill level measurement, etc. and register the corresponding process variables, pressure, temperature, conductivity, pH-value, fill level, flow, etc. Used for influencing process variables are actuators. These are, for example, pumps or valves, which can influence the flow of a liquid in a pipe or the fill level in a container. Besides the above mentioned measuring devices and actuators, also falling under the terminology, field devices, are remote I/Os, radio adapters, and, in general, devices, which are arranged at the field level.
A large number of such field devices are produced and sold by the Endress+Hauser-group of companies.
In modern industrial plants, field devices are, as a rule, connected with superordinated units via bus systems, such as ProfiBus®, FOUNDATION Fieldbus®, HART®, etc. bus systems. Normally, the superordinated units are control systems, or control units, such as, for example, a PLC (programmable logic controller). The superordinated units serve, among other things, for process control, process visualizing, process monitoring, as well as for start-up of field devices. The measured values registered by field devices, here especially by sensors, are transmitted via the particular bus system to a superordinated unit or, in given cases, to a number of superordinated units. Along with that, there occurs also, for the purpose of configuring, parametering, and diagnosis of field devices or for the purpose of operating actuators, a data transmission from the superordinated unit via the bus system to the field devices.
Besides a wired data transmission between the field devices and the superordinated unit, wireless data transmission, i.e. radio transmission of data, is also important. Especially wireless HART® transmission is an established standard. For implementing wireless data transmission, newer field devices, especially sensors and actuators, are, in part, embodied as radio field devices. These have, as a rule, a radio unit and an electrical current source as integral components, wherein the electrical current source enables an autarkic electrical current supply of the field device.
Devices, which support the wireless HART®-protocol, can be ordered with already preconfigured network settings. However, it is in certain situations necessary to change these networks settings. Moreover, field devices, which have no ex factory preconfigured network settings, must be configured for network integration. In these cases, the required network settings are transmitted by means of cable connection to each individual field device. Used for this are PC-based configuration programs, such as, for example, FieldCare of Endress+Hauser, Pactware, Emerson AMS or Siemens PDM, or handheld-based configuration programs, such as Field Xpert of Endress+Hauser or Emerson 475. This procedure is very time consuming, since each field device of a plant must be separately configured.
Described in DE 10 2008 043 170 A1 is a method for integrating an additional field device into a radio network of automation technology, wherein a number of field devices have already been integrated. In such case, integration parameters of the network are ascertained by means of a service device or a field device located in the vicinity of a participant to be newly integrated and then transmitted to the new participant, whereby this is integrated into the network.
Disclosed in DE 10 2008 003 575 A1 is a method for integrating a new participant node into a wireless communication network of process automation. In such case, based on predetermined criteria, such as, for example, based on locational information, an already integrated node is selected and placed in an integration mode, which enables integration of the new participant node into the network.
Disadvantageous in the case of both methods is that only one participant is integrated. The integration of a plurality of participants thus becomes extremely time consuming. Moreover, in the case of these methods, already existing network participants are required, so that construction of a network from the ground up is not possible. Also, it is not possible to obtain information from a participant or to transmit to it, without integrating it into the network.